Positive reports on retail sales, business inventories and consumer sentiment boosted hopes that the economy is rebounding. A Chinese trade report also showed exports from that country picked up in November. Full Story »
The Treasury's pay czar, Kenneth Feinberg, is limiting cash compensation for executives at Citigroup, GMAC, AIG and General Motors to $500,000 and delaying other payouts. The rules apply to the second half of December, and won't affect what execs have already been paid this year. Full Story »
Cable giant Comcast is trying to build an entertainment empire with its purchase of NBC Universal, but analysts warn the deal might not turn out well for consumers. It could bring higher prices and more charges for content that used to be free, even as it reshapes the media landscape. Full Story »
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pledged to end a 25-year-old Kurdish rebellion by giving more rights to the minority Kurds. But a ban on the country's main Kurdish political party — over alleged links to Kurdish rebels — is exacerbating tensions. Full Story »
Some of the laid-off workers receiving government help to pay for their COBRA health coverage are seeing those subsidies run out. Congress has yet to vote on an extension and employers and workers are worried about the future. Full Story »
"This came after many unsuccessful efforts at reconciliation, yet I am still dedicated to keeping the process that lies ahead peaceful for our family," Jenny Sanford says of filing for divorce months after Gov. Mark Sanford publicly confessed an affair with an Argentine woman. Full Story »
European Union leaders agreed Friday to commit $3.6 billion a year until 2012 to help poorer countries combat global warming, as they sought to rescue their image as climate change innovators and bolster talks in Copenhagen. Full Story »
Retail sales rose a greater-than-expected 1.3 percent in November, boosting hopes that the all-important consumer sector will support the fragile recovery. A 6 percent surge in sales at service stations, partly reflecting higher gasoline prices, led the overall gain. But even excluding that jump, retail sales posted a respectable 0.8 percent rise. Full Story »
A regional police chief says five Muslim men detained this week had yet to be charged with any crime but would "most probably" be deported. The case has fanned fears that Americans and other Westerners are traveling to Pakistan to join up with militant groups. Full Story »
Private security guards working for Blackwater USA participated in clandestine CIA raids against suspected insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan, The New York Times reported Thursday. Full Story »
